The present invention relates to the repair of turbine engine components, and in particular to the repair of the outlet guide vane shroud assembly. The repair addresses worn vane location slots within the outlet guide vane shroud assembly.
During operation of a turbine engine, the engine components can be damaged. Engine operating stresses frequently lead to fatigue cracks or similar defects in gas turbine engine parts. Repairs must be done to the defects caused during normal operation. One part that may require repair is the outlet guide vane shroud assembly, which is the inner part of the fan frame assembly. Specifically, the shroud assembly contains vane location slots for affixing vanes within the assembly. The vane location slots support the inner end of the fan guide vanes. The shroud assembly also acts as a case to create the inner wall for secondary air flow through the engine.
An insert is located between the fan guide vane and the shroud casing. This insert is meant to be a wear part, and can be replaced. However, during engine operation, the inserts may wear to a point where the vane location slots are in contact with the fan guide vanes. The contact may result in the slots becoming oversized, which results in a less than optimal support structure for the fan guide vanes. Upon reaching a limit outside of acceptable tolerances, the fan outlet guide vane inner shroud assembly must be removed from service. Currently, there is a high scrap rate of the part due to a lack of repair for this distress mode, and the cost of replacing the part is expensive. Therefore, what is needed is a repair that eliminates the need for total part replacement.